Which of these Washington DC hotels?
 

We are planning a weekend in Washington in May

These are the hotels we are looking at right now. Any other suggestions would be welcomed

Hyatt Capitol Hill
Renaissance DC - 9th st
Omni Shoreham

Also looking at St Regis, we can get a great corporate rate here for their deluxe or grand deluxe room

We will have kids with us age 10 & 8 and thought a pool would be great but not necessary

Thanks for any info you can provide

also wanted to add the Marriott Metro Center to the list

Without knowing your standards and preferences (other than the pool) it's difficult to make recommendations, other than for searching these boards for the many past discussions of these same hotels.

Would like to be close to main attractions

I listed these choices as they are all within our price range due to special corporate rates.

I have done a search for these hotels and some of them results are over a year old and was looking for more recent opinions

Room decor, cleanliness is important

Just returned from trip with our 12 and 9 year old. Check out the St. Gregory - true 1 bdrm suite, good sized, decent sofa bed, clean and pretty nice furnishings (not a St. Regis but probably Westin quality). Price was great and location pretty good. Lots of good restaurants within a few blocks. Remember, with 4 people and zone rates a taxi is not much more expensive than Metro.

Is the St. Regis on 16th St.? If so, the Omni Shoreham would be my last choice based on its location. It's the farthest from the Mall, where the main attractions are. It's close to the National Zoo, which is wonderful, but you would have to Metro or cab to the Mall. From any of the others, you could walk to a lot of the sights and they're close to Metro stations also. Metro is great, but it gets pretty crowded at rush hour.

Believe it or not the St Gregory is more expensive then what we can get the St Regis for.

Looking more into the Omni, I don't think this is one we would like

If you had to choose one of these hotels, which would you choose and why?

Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill
St Regis
Marriott Metro Center

Thanks

Tough decision because they are all in different parts of the city. If you want luxury, pick the St Regis. It is also nearest to the White House. If you want more of a standard, business oriented hotel, pick the Marriott. It is somewhat equi-distance to the White House, and the Nat'l Gallery, Nat'l Archives and Natural History Museum. The Hyatt is obviously close to the Capitol, as well as the new Museum of the Am Indian and the Air & Space Museum.

Have you looked at the JW Marriott's rates at 14th & Penn? This would be my first choice, then the St Regis, Marriott and the Hyatt would be last.

FOr myself, hands down I'd choose the St. Regis, as it is a lovely property, but the kids may be happer at the Marriott Metro Center - more shops and food outlets in the immediate area. It is also nearer a Metro stop if that is a concern.

Thanks for the replies

The JW Marriott is not running any specials during the time we are there and is over $350 per night once you add the tax

Metro stop not a concern as we will have a car

A car? Well...I would park it at the hotel and take the Metro. You do not want to drive around sightseeing in DC. That would be a big mistake.

You definitely don't want to drive around town. DC is a confusing place to drive and there is very little parking, especially in tourist areas. No need to drive with one of the most tourist-friendly subway systems in the country.

You absolutely should not be driving a car around DC as a tourist just to go to some tourist sites.

For location, I generally wouldn't pick the Hyatt as I don't like the Capitol Hill area as much, but given you are only going to be in DC for a weekend, it truly does not matter at all which location you choose. I would have picked the Marriott, but wouldn't ever consider paying $350 a night for that or any hotel in DC. Why can't kids go two days when visiting another city with a lot to do without a swimming pool in May?

Just pick one, it doesn't matter.

Thanks for the info

We don't plan on driving much but since we are driving to DC we will have our car.

Christina
We don't have to have a pool sometimes it's just nice to have for relaxing after sightseeing. We took the kids to Italy for 16 days and none of the hotels in the 4 cities we vistited had a pool

Maybe it's just me or the fact we are from California but we found driving around DC to be a piece of cake. Parking was about on par with other major cities we have been to. Not cheap but the parking garages and spaces were there to be found if you looked.

If you're going to stay at any of the three hotels you've mentioned, driving to the tourist sites, with the possible exception of the area near the Jefferson/Roosevelt/WWII Memorial/Lincoln monuments, would be a waste of time. You might find a parking garage, although many downtown are closed on weekends, but at most you'd save a few blocks. Not worth it, IMO. You might be able to park somewhat the monuments I've mentioned above on the roads and then walk. That's might be worth trying because public transportation, other than the Tourmobile, doesn't get that close.

We don't plan on driving much to the sites unless they are further away from the hotels.

I was just commenting on the one post about "if being close to the Metro" was important

Of those 3, I'd go with the Marriott Metro Center. It's the most centrally located to the places most tourists want to go. the Renaissance is close to many of the Smithsonian buildings and to Penn Quarter (which has some great restaurants), but the immediate area has a lot of construction and can feel a little creepy at night (I work in the vicinity). The Hyatt Capitol Hill is fine, but is a bit removed from the things most people want to see other than, of course, the capitol and Supreme Court.

Go with the St. Regis Sheraton-Carlton. One of the great & legendary hotels of DC, practically on top of the White House, on a broad and elegant block next to St. John's Church - the "Presidents" church. The Shoreham has good history -- the Beatles stayed there on their first US visit, but it's not near anything. It's in the suburbs, basically. Capitol Hill is no place to stay, kind of cold and lonely once the workday ends. 9th Street is not a good location, and the Marriott Metro Center is far, far away. If you can get a good rate at the St. Regis, do that and save the money for a hotel w/ pool for another city.

I agree with horizon. I worked at the St Regis for 5 yrs. It is one of the best hotels in the city. Also, when compared to the others on your list, the most "hotel-like" not a big barn. They have an excellent staff and if Jim Roberts is still the Chief Concierge you will have a great asset at your disposal. As a former resident I would recommend against driving/parking in the downtown area. It isn't necessary or convenient and most places you want to visit can be accessed via Metro or taxi(DC is a zone system, mot meter so it only costs about $6-7 to get to the main tour spots.).